Contents

Official Synopsis

Plot

Peridot hysterically responding to Steven.

Peridot is inside the barn, beginning a log with her tape recorder. She documents her own shock in her disobeying Yellow Diamond and calling her a clod, but when she stops recording, she plays back "a traitorous clod" numerous times. She excitedly celebrates the fact that she insulted Yellow Diamond but quickly falls back into hysterics. Steven asks her if she'll be okay, to which Peridot enthusiastically replies "no". Peridot explains that she used to follow every order but now she has befriended a team that is devoted to protecting the planet she sought to destroy. She still has a hard time coping with the fact that she is now a Crystal Gem. Peridot tries to throw away the tape recorder, exclaiming it "chronicles her descent into madness", and Garnet gives the recorder to Steven. Garnet takes Peridot outside the barn to talk privately, while Peridot questions if she would have to add a star to her outfit.

Steven notices Garnet and Peridot seem to get along well now, considering their hostile relationship early on, so he begins to seek his answer as to how through Peridot's tape recorder. He starts with the very first log, the day Steven gives her the recorder; She initially declines to call Steven by his name, but after he mentions that it's rude, she accepts his request. In the next log, Peridot takes note of insects and their poor choice of habitation and their capability of flight. She climbs up the roof of the barn where Greg is working to fix the roof, meeting Greg for the first time. She shoves him down and Garnet catches him below. Garnet chastises Peridot for her ignorance in assuming that humans are as robust as Gems and could survive such a fall unharmed, but tells Greg to go easy on her realizing she doesn't know much about Earth (with Peridot protesting that she does). Peridot ends the log by saying that "the permafusion, Garnet, is the worst".

Peridot shoves Greg off the roof

Her next log details her experience when assigned to clean the barn. She stumbles upon a chest of clothing and is excited to try on "appearance modifiers that aren't melded to [her] body". Garnet spots her and approves of her look, but Peridot is quickly embarrassed and rips up the shorts. In the next log, Peridot notes that today is the 30th day she's stuck on Earth with the Gems. Steven celebrates the occasion by teaching her about gifting and gives her two decorated paint cans for her to use as stilts. She chases Steven off, but during the night she tries them on, thinking of how she will appear to the Gems in a positive light. The log ends with her losing control by running backwards and stumbling into a rock. During the following log, she attempts to learn humor and fails to understand it because she doesn't know what a chicken is. Later, Steven tries to introduce Peridot to human entertainment via television shows, specifically the show Camp Pining Hearts. She is disgusted by the romantic scene claiming to want no part of it, but in the next 78 hours she continuously rewatches the same episode with great attachment. Steven notices her watching the same episode and notices that she made a chart detailing the best romantic connections between specific partners and her scientific explanation as to why. This launches her into a very long explanation of her proving why Percy and Pierre "are objectively the best for each other". Garnet shows her approval.

Opal placing the drill head on the saw horses.

Peridot starts the next log by mentioning that the Cluster drill is coming along well but notes the work ethic of Amethyst, just as she distracts Peridot as a shapeshifted Lion. Peridot is bewildered as to why Amethyst wastes energy shapeshifting, to which Amethyst replies to by shapeshifting into Peridot and perfectly mimicking her. Peridot is interested in Amethyst's shapeshifting and tells her to change into a chicken. She finally exclaims that she understood the joke she read earlier, prompting Pearl to make a lion pun. Peridot notes that Pearl tries to be a good partner and Amethyst is fun to be around, but is still perplexed by Garnet. Garnet shows her approval. During the night, Amethyst and Pearl put the drill head on supports by fusing into Opal and lifting it. This shocks Peridot, and Garnet calls everyone off for a break. Peridot approaches Garnet and questions why she is constantly fused, considering she never uses her powers for any specific, constructive purpose. Garnet tries to talk to her and says that she appreciates their differences. She offers to fuse with Peridot to help her understand fusion, and she hesitantly accepts. They try a fusion dance, but Peridot changes her mind at the last second. Garnet appreciates her effort to fuse and to understand fusion. Peridot says she still doesn't understand why Garnet remains fused, to which she replies "I'm Percy and Pierre", which she understands.

Garnet and Peridot attempting fusion.

The most recent log begins with Peridot saying that she is starting to learn more about fusion. Garnet interrupts her and directly talks to Steven during the log recording, stating that its best that Steven shouldn't have listened to Peridot's logs, but she knows he is only curious because he cares about Peridot. She ends the log by telling him to give back the recorder to Peridot, a statement that Peridot did not understand at the time. She and Garnet come back to the barn with Steven and he returns the recorder to her. Garnet and Steven both give their approval to Peridot with thumbs ups, which she returns in kind.

Music

Instrumental Songs

Trivia

She has confirmed on her Twitter that it was Peridot's shorts for the episode that drew her closer to the alien face and from there it became her signature symbol.[4]

A similar alien face doodle is seen on Peridot's tape recorder next to the phrase "KEEP OUT!!!!!!!!"

This marks the first time Greg meets Peridot.

Peridot states that all "clothes" are a part of a Gem's form. While not outright stated, in previous episodes, Gems like Pearl have explained that Gem bodies are actually holographic hard-light projections, and their default costumes have changed after extended regeneration.

This episode shows that Peridot seems to be interested in learning more about Earth and its culture, but uses risky experiments for her studies.

The Gem Homeworld is revealed to be in a different galaxy from the Milky Way.

"Camp Pining Hearts" depicts a flag pretty similar to Canada's one, but with green color instead of red. It also shows a maple syrup bottle again with a green maple leaf.

Peridot watching "Camp Pining Hearts" for 78 hours can be a reference to this being the 78th episode of "Steven Universe".

In "Camp Pining Hearts", Paulette has a hat with a blue, diamond-shaped symbol, and her scarf has a water drop pattern resembling Lapis Lazuli's gemstone, and a hairstyle similar to Rose Quartz. Percy's hat and jacket have diamond-shaped yellow symbols, and Percy's necklace has a triangular pendant resembling Peridot's gemstone.

The shipping chart Peridot makes of the Pining Hearts series is titled "CPH: RN RNRLRSYS", which may denote that Peridot has problems writing English in human script, as she mixes "A" and "R" and tries to write "ANALASYS" instead of "ANALYSIS".

The basis for her shipping chart mirrors her views on fusion; rather than basing her favored pairing on romantic grounds, she bases it on the supposed efficiency in "dominating Camp Pining Hearts".

In the planning stages of the episode, a scene where Amethyst teaches Peridot about eating is drafted, however it never made it past the storyboarding process due to cuts for time.[5]

While Steven tries to explain what kissing is to Peridot, after Peridot saw it on "Camp Pining Hearts", it is strongly implied that Steven and Greg have had 'the talk'.

This episode shows that Pearl and Amethyst are on much better terms with each other, being able to fuse into Opal with little effort.

This is the first, and so far, the only episode to show Pearl and Amethyst fusing into Opal successfully on screen.

This episode features the first in-show reference to the fact that the Crystal Gems have stars on their outfits.

Cultural References

After watching "Camp Pining Hearts", Peridot has made a character shipping chart, quite common among fan bases.

"Camp Pining Hearts" may be a reference to "Percy Jackson", due to the camp-like setting and Percy as one of the characters.

The main character Percy eventually ended up with Annabeth, an opposite-sex character, despite people shipping Percy with Nico, a homosexual same-sex character as Percy. This could be a reference to Annabeth and Nico.

The logo for "Production Presents" resembles Mabel's "Shooting Star" symbol from the animated series "Gravity Falls".

Given the promo art, it may also be a reference to the 1990s Nickelodeon sitcom "Salute Your Shorts", spliced in with Canadian dramas such as "Degrassi".

The joke Peridot reads out, "Why did the chicken cross the road?", is a common riddle anti-joke that gives a simple answer instead of a funny punchline.[6]

Peridot using a mop upside down may reference a brief joke from an early episode of the Nickelodeon show "SpongeBob SquarePants".

Continuity

This episode aired exactly one year after Peridot's debut in "Warp Tour".

The title references to Peridot's "log dates" that she records in her audio diary.

This episode takes place not long after "Message Received", with Peridot still processing the fact that she not only defied her former leader Yellow Diamond's order to let Earth be destroyed and retrieve the Cluster, but also insulted her in the process.

Peridot refers to a chest of clothes as "shirts" mistakenly believing that the term Steven used in "Catch and Release" meant all clothing.

The log dates in this episode are:

7 11 2 - Steven gives Peridot the tape recorder and she makes her first entry. (Same log date as "Too Far", this episode's flashback takes place before the start of that episode.)

Errors

When Steven tells Peridot that it's gonna be alright, her left arm is the same color as her leggings.

When Peridot shoves Greg off the roof of the barn and looks down to see what the result of experiment is, the hammer Greg dropped is duplicated; one probably part of the background and the other part of the animation.

When Peridot shoves Greg off the roof of the barn, during the close-ups of Garnet holding Greg, there is a fence and bushes right behind them. When it goes to the view of Peridot on the roof, the bushes and fence aren't there.

When Peridot is telling a joke to her reflection, the cover of the book, "Jokes!" is not reversed in the mirror. Instead, it appears as if we are viewing Peridot from the front.

When Peridot rips her chart in half, the arrows that connect the characters disappear off of both pieces.

When Peridot comments on Pearl's attempt at bonding with her, the truck and other items inside the barn are missing.

When Peridot asks if there's more than one episode of Camp Pining Hearts, the diamond symbol on

There's Diamond Symbol on Peridot's Collars.

her clothing is on the back of her collar.

When Steven returns the tape recorder to Peridot, the underside of her socks are all yellow rather than half yellow and half green.

When Peridot and Steven were listening to the recorder the first time, Steven is moving his mouth, but nothing came out.